


May You Never

by Tayani



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Slice of Life, Softness, Trans!Ryuji, giftfic, it may be canon it may be an au, we'll never know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 19:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15444417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: Goro Akechi never thought he'd ever get a friend. He didn't want one. He didn't need one.Not that Sakamoto Ryuuji ever cared about what the hell was he thinking.A series of short moments between Goro and Ryuuji.





	May You Never

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hewillneverbesatisfied](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hewillneverbesatisfied/gifts).



The evening was a cold, rainy one; and amidst the wet backstreets of Yongen-Jaya, Leblanc shone like the beacon of warmth and comfort.

There have hardly been any customers, of course; there never were on rainy days. Still, the TV’s quiet murmur, the hissing of the coffee brewing and the smell of coffee beans and curry that stuck to everything in this place made for a homely atmosphere; one that the two boys talking over the counter enjoyed immensely.

“So, anyway, I was thinkin’ I might just keep runnin’, y’know?” Ryuuji chimed out, swirling his spoon in the hot cocoa Akira prepared for him. “I’m no good at school stuff, but if I kept trainin’, dunno. Think it’d work?”

“You won’t know unless you try.” Akira smiled back at him lightly, leaning against the counter. With this few customers, Sojiro took an early leave, giving the shop-tending over to him. Akira didn’t mind. It let Ryuuji stay as long as he wanted to, and that was already perk enough. The two boys spent the day watching videos together, and were now on their way to chatting well into the night.

“I mean, as long as you think you have a shot. Your time’s been getting a lot better, right?”

“Heh, yeah, but don’t get me wrong, man; that’s nowhere near as good as I used to be.”

Akira shrugged with a smile. “You’ll get there. And besides…”

What _besides_ there was, Ryuuji never found out; the bell by the door chimed, and the familiar – if tired –  face of Goro Akechi appeared through the door as the detective entered and slipped onto the stool by the bar, sighing as he looked up, blinking at Akira standing there. The raven-haired boy blushed the tiniest bit and leaned off the counter, nearing him.

“Welcome. What will it be today?”

“Ah… Kurusu-kun. Tending the shop alone today?” Goro managed a smile. “I’ll have the usual, thank you.”

As Akira busied himself with making coffee, Ryuuji frowned over at the detective, his leg kicking under the counter in annoyance. The interest seemed hardly reciprocated; Goro seemed to have troubles focusing on anything at the moment, as he kept shifting the position he was sitting in, his usually calm and collected face rippling with fleeting expressions of pain. Ryuuji’s frown turned to confused concern at the sign of that, and after a moment of this, he nudged the detective in the ribs, earning a little, stifled groan and a barely veiled glare.

“…yes? It’s Sakamoto-kun, isn’t it?”

“…yo, Akechi, something’s the matter?” Ryuuji asked, ignoring the hostility for now. “You’ve been acting weird tonight.”

“I am sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” the detective replied with dignity, only to hiss in pain as he turned too quickly to thank Akira for the coffee – and a small piece of cake he got on a plate, free of charge. Ryuuji snorted, and he could see the detective’s ears go red as he’s so obviously been outed.

“…did anything happen, Akechi?” Akira asked quietly, leaning against the counter again. “You seem in pain. Ryuuji’s right about the fact you’ve been acting strange.”

The detective looked between the two of them, and then sighed, stretching carefully on his seat before frowning.

“…if you _must_ know, I… I have been asked for an interview and a photoshoot today, and one of the requirements they had for the photoshoot was for me to wear… some kind of corset, I suppose, underneath my clothes to slim my figure more.” he explained, looking away. “It has been incredibly uncomfortable, and ever since I took it off, my back has been…”

“Oh.” Ryuuji hummed, before looking at Akira and shrugging. “Yeah, I get that a lot. I mean, now it’s better, but. Uh. You fine with taking your jacket off? I know something that’ll help.”

Goro looked between them again, and when Akira nodded encouragingly, he frowned and slipped his jacket off stiffly, only to jump when Ryuuji pressed his fingers gently over his ribs, slowly massaging his left side.

“S-Sakamoto, what are you—”

“Oi, dude, can you take the other one?”

“Of course.” Akira nodded with a smile, walking from behind the counter and sitting on the other side of the rather flustered detective, massaging out his back in similar way. Slowly, Akechi seemed to be relaxing; and as he did, Ryuuji guided him to breathe in and out, stretching his chest that way. Ten minutes later, they stopped, and the detective slumped forward, blinking and rolling his shoulders carefully.

“…it’s better. How did you…”

“Don’t get too happy, it’ll hurt for a while more.” Ryuuji shrugged, leaning back on his seat. “But, getting the worst knots out helps, and if you keep breathin’ ‘n all, you’ll be fine. I get these a lot from binders, so I know the pain.”

“Binders..? O-oh…” Goro blinked, before looking away; and Ryuuji rolled his eyes at him. Still, the detective cleared his throat and focused on his coffee. “All the same, thank you. It really is a lot better already.”

“No problem, man.” Ryuuji grinned lightly, leaning back on his seat, nodding at Akira, who stood up and moved behind the counter once again. “If you ever need to do this shit again, go get yourself a proper thing. This guy’s a reason why I don’t get daily pains anymore, he dragged me off to get a fitting binder like a week after finding out I had a problem with my old one.”

“I just tagged along.” Akira shrugged.

“Yea, right, and you pretended they’re for you half of the time so I’d be more comfortable. Give yourself some credit, man.”

Akira smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, while Goro looked between the two of them again, a hesitant smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He looked into his coffee and smiled at the piece of cake he has been given off the order, taking a bite of it.

“…did you bake it, Kurusu-kun..?”

“Huh? Oh… yes, I did. Is it… any good?”

“It’s delicious. Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

“…Akechi?”

The air was heavy with upcoming storm; and Ryuuji was perfectly aware how sweaty and gross he had to look as he stopped mid-jog by a dark alleyway, his attention pulled by a sound of heavy breathing that spoke of contained sobs. Goro Akechi has been standing there, in his causal clothes, sweater vest and all, leaning against the wall. His hand was all bruised and resting against the cold bricks; a testimony of anger and frustration having been taken out on the cold stone. Ryuuji stared, as the pair of crimson eyes widened in surprise upon seeing him and for a moment, the blond boy saw something there; something he wasn’t entirely sure he liked the sight of. And then, the detective straightened up, trying to clumsily pull on his usual, smiling mask; though before he could do that, Ryuuji waved his hand in the air, grinning at him.

“Come on. We’re going for a run.”

“…huh?”

“Come _on_ , I won’t forgive you if you lose to me.”

“…Sakamoto, I’m…”

“The last one pays for ramen!”

And here he was, running off. Goro stared at his back for maybe five seconds afterwards; and then, looking extremely confused and still somewhat shaken up, broke into a jog, following in silence after the blond boy.

For a long time, they ran in silence; Ryuuji adjusting his pace a bit so they could run side by side, and only stopping for a moment, so that Akechi could pull off his sweater vest. At first, the detective looked like he waited, in resignation, for the blond to start talking; but as they continued in silence, he slowly relaxed, running at a steady pace beside Ryuuji, eyes slowly turning almost dazed as he let his thoughts wander.

It started to rain by the time Ryuuji allowed them to stop, and they paused in front of a greasy, old ramen restaurant somewhere in the back streets, both bent over and gasping for breath under the roof while before them, the street was being converted into a stream with the sudden deluge.

“…just in time, huh?” Ryuuji grinned, slapping his hand down Goro’s back. The detective yelped and glared up at him, pushing back his damp from sweat bangs.

“…why did I join you again?”

“Heh, no idea, man. Come on, we earned some ramen.”

“I’d rather…”

“Can’t hear you, rain’s too loud. Let’s go, man.”

Ryuuji grinned and stepped into the restaurant, sitting by the counter; and, after a moment’s hesitation, Akechi sighed and shook his head, following him inside.

Two steaming bowls of ramen were set before them, and the detective started to poke at his food; while Ryuuji dug in happily, only to stop after a moment, eyeing his companion.

“…it’s good, y’know.” he hummed, nudging Goro’s side with his elbow. “Give it a try.”

“…I’m not exactly hungry.”

“Bullshit. There’s never enough ramen. Dig in.” the blond grinned, nudging him again.

“Can you stop doing that?”

“I’ll stop once you eat.”

They both turned to their bowls once more; Ryuuji pretending he wasn’t watching as, after few first, hesitant bites Goro actually dug in as well, eating with quite an enthusiasm. The blond smiled lightly to himself, slurping his own noodles loudly before wiping his lips. He waited for a bit more before talking; until they were both mostly done, now sweaty and hot because of the food rather than the run.

“Man, my legs feel heavy as shit…”

“I do believe we ran a considerable distance.” Goro shook his head, looking outside and sighing at the rain. “And I don’t have an umbrella on me.”

“We can wait it out here, ‘s not like we’re botherin’ anyone. There’s plenty free seats.” Ryuuji smiled, before looking down into his bowl. “…y’know, I always go for a run like that when I feel shitty. If you run long enough all you can think about is how much your legs hurt.”

The detective did not reply. His injured hand curled under the counter, and the blond smiled sympathetically, before leaning back on his seat, staring at the ceiling.

“…’s how I got into track team in the first place, y’know?”

“…you’ve had to have a rather frustrating childhood, if running out your anger made you a track-and-field star, Sakamoto.”

“Heh, you’ve no idea, man.” Ryuuji shrugged, his leg starting to jump up and down under the counter. “…my dad, y’know. He wasn’t around much. And when he was, he was mostly hitting my mum, or me. I preferred running to being at home.”

Crimson eyes fell on him again; focused now, piercing, if surprised. After a long moment of silence, Akechi cleared his throat, looking away.

“…I am sorry. I had no idea…”

“What are you sorry for, man? It’s fine now. He’s locked up and me and my mum are managing fine.” Ryuuji shrugged. “I liked the track, though. Sure, that was before Kamoshida…”

“…before the Phantom Thieves’ first target?”

“Listen, get off your obsession for a moment, m’kay? Back then there were no Phantom Thieves. Kamoshida was just a crappy teacher…” Ryuuji sighed, kicking his leg in the air. “He got our coach fired, then took over our team himself. See, Shujin could only be known from what he himself had a hand in, according to the bastard… welp, anyway, the trainings became nightmare. Crazy workouts, impossible punishments, you name it… and he kept going after us. Me most of all. With my dad, and… everything.”

Ryuuji sighed, before grinning and sitting upright once again. He beamed at Goro, who blinked at him in confusion. The detective was sitting closer now, leaning in with actual, keen interest and strange softness in his eyes that somehow looked more genuine than all of his smiles up until now put together.

“Still, it ended up working for the best, eh? I met Akira and… well, the rest of the guys. And now I can go off for runs with stuck-up detectives, too.” Ryuuji laughed, and Goro seemed to smile almost despite himself before leaning back on his chair as well.

“…why did you ask me for a run, Sakamoto? Why are you telling me all this?”

“…well, I told ya, didn’t I? Running helps. And so does knowin’ there’s someone out there that gets you.” the blond shrugged. “Akira taught me that.”

At the mention of the raven-haired boy, Goro smiled a somewhat sad smile and looked away, slipping from his chair. Outside, the rain was letting up; and the sun started to peek shyly out from under the clouds.

“…I see.” the detective hummed, pulling his sweater vest back on. “All the same, thank you.”

And then, as he was about to leave…

“…perhaps we could run together again sometime. Time permitting.”

Ryuuji grinned, showing the detective thumbs up.

“You got it, man.”

 

* * *

 

The weather was surprisingly capricious for this time of the year; it was as if it couldn’t decide whether it was supposed to remain in warm autumn, or already become cold, dreary winter. The result was a strange, tiring mixture of both that made it close to impossible to leave the house _entirely_ prepared for what might happen that day.

The jacket of his winter uniform made for an excellent choice that particular day, Goro thought; it was one of the colder ones, and as he walked out from the TV station from yet another recording, the young detective passed many people shivering in T-shirts or shorts while their breaths clouded the air. He smiled to himself lightly, biting into an apple – his lunch for the day. Really, all it took was a little foresight…

The detective walked slowly, enjoying the rare moment of calm. In between his recordings, interviews, detective work and studies, even as simple a thing as going for a run, workout or just walking from one destination to another could feel like a much-needed rest. One could find tranquillity on the busy streets of Shibuya; the distant murmur of overlapping voices and countless steps aiding in what felt almost like meditation…

The sound of a familiar voice throwing obscenities pulled Goro’s thoughts away from his quiet musings, and he turned in surprise as he passed the door to one of the public toilets. He recognized the voice, of course; and though the sudden break in his tranquil walk made the young detective feel irrationally irritated, he hesitated, hand reaching towards the door handle. He had no inclination to stop and investigate; but then again, the curiosity has already started gnawing at him. It was difficult to resist.

The place was quite clean, by public toilet standards – and quite empty, save for a lone, blond man standing there and glaring at the sink, his T-shirt and hair drenched, his binder showing obviously through the wet, sticky fabric. Goro blinked between the boy and the sink, before stifling a laughter with his gloved hand.

“…Sakamoto? Is something the matter?”

Ryuuji twirled around, hands coming up on instinct; only for the blond boy to relax once he noticed who was it that called his name. He groaned and turned back, pointing in annoyance at the sink.

“Yo, Akechi. This piece of shit is broken, it sprayed me all with water when I tried to wash my hands, dammit!” he growled, his leg jerking up and down as he spoke. For a moment, Goro just looked at him with an amused smile; and then, wondering why was he even doing this in the first place, he set the bag he had swung over his shoulder on one of the dry sinks and opened it, pulling out a small towel and a black T-shirt.

“…here.” he said, handing them to the blond. “I was headed for climbing wall right now, but I suppose I can reschedule it for another day. Do you need any assistance?”

Ryuuji stared at him, and then at the clothes offered, taking them hesitantly, tilting his head. Despite himself, Goro felt his smile turn more genuine at the blond’s obvious confusion.

“…uh. Thanks. You’re a bro.” Ryuuji said, rubbing the back of his neck with a small smile. “Can you, uh, hold the door while I change? This shit doesn’t lock and, y’know.”

“Of course.”

Ryuuji disappeared in one of the toilet stalls, and Goro stood dutifully in front of it, looking at the ceiling as he listened to the blond shuffling about. Why was he doing this, he wondered for what had to be umpteenth time since he entered the bathroom. Sakamoto was, by far, the most annoying out of the little group of friends he has already, to some degree of certainty, identified as the Phantom Thieves. And yet…

With a fond smile, Goro remembered the evening at Leblanc, and the blond’s immediate turn from hostility to need to help the moment he noticed Goro was in pain. Their first run together, with him running, ridiculously, in his sweater vest, and Ryuuji’s understanding and lack of pressure when he saw Goro might not want to talk of whatever hurt him. The thread of understanding that connected them since then; and the few more runs they went on together since. And so many more stories Akira has shared with him over coffee. Goro wrapped his arms lightly around himself and thought, wonderingly, how could someone so seemingly vulgar and thuggish be this innocent and kind.

What a direct opposition to himself.

“M’kay, I’m done.” Ryuuji hummed, and Goro let him out, shaking his thoughts away and snorting quietly at how ill-fitting the T-shirt was on the other boy. The blond simply rolled his eyes at him.

“Shut it. Thanks, though.”

“Well.” Goro smiled, and was surprised to find that his smile was a genuine one. “I cannot be the only one being saved by you, now can I?”

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for Nate. The best little brother out there, A+, 11/10 would recommend.
> 
> If you enjoy my story, please hmu on twitter [@mikan_writings](https://twitter.com/mikan_writings)!


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